Single use fiber board mold for water meter barrels



Dec. 30, 1958 J. L. FORD ET AL SINGLE USE. FIBER BOARD MOLD FOR WATER METER BARRELS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTORS. Jay/vi. Fave and .P/ampa Zita-PD,

AWOFW Dec. so, 1958 J. FORD ET AL 2,

SINGLE USE FIBER BOARD MOLD FOR WATER METER BARRELS Filed Feb. 11, 1954 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN V EN TORS. fl L. F020 and IPI'CHAFP 2' F020,

ATTOF/VEH SINGLE USE FIBER BOARD MOLD FOR WATER METER BARRELS John L. Ford, Wabash, Ind., and Richard V. Ford, Haddouiield, N. J., assignors to The Ford Meter Box Cornpauy, lnc., Wabash, Ind., a corporation of Indiana Application February 11, 1954, Serial No. 409,615

6 Claims. c1. 25-418) I The present invention relates to a single-use mold, for use in the production of cast or molded tubular elements. The invention has been developed in connection with the production of concrete barrels for sub-surface water meter installations, and it will be described in that connection, though it will, of course,be understood that the invention may be equally applicable to the production of generally similar devices for other uses.

The primary object of the invention is to provide an assemblage of elements cooperable to define, at minimum expense, a mold in which a tubular element may be cast. A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby the walls of such a mold may be composed of inexpensive and preferably disposable material such as, for instance, corrugated paper board, suitable reinforcing and orienting devices being included in the assemblage.

A further'object of the invention is to provide apparatus, including separate sheaths of disposable material, together with suitable reinforcing and orienting devices which may be temporarily associated with the sheaths to define such a mold, the reinforcing and orienting devices being removable, after the cast material has set, for reuse with another pair of sheaths.

A still further object of the invention is to provide apparatus of the character above described, whereby, after the reinforcing and orienting devices have been removed, the sheaths may, if desired, be left in place upon the cast article, to guard and sustain such article against shock damage during shipment or other transit.

Further objects of the invention will appear as the description proceeds.

To the accomplishment of the above and related objects, my invention may be embodied in the form illustrated in the accompanying drawings, attention being called to the fact, however, that the drawings are illustrative only, and that change may be made in the specific construction illustrated and described, so long as the scope of the appended claims is not violated. M

Fig. 1 is an exploded view of an assemblage, constructed in accordance with the present invention, for carrying out the objects of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical section through such an assemblage when completely arranged for reception of the moldable material from whichthe cast article is to be made;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view, showing the assemblage after filling with moldable material, parts being broken away for clarity of illustration;

Fig. 4 is a perspcetive view of a sheath of the character contemplated under the present invention, in flat, knockeddown condition; and

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing such a sheath in an intermediate condition as it is expanded into coopera tive association with a reinforcing ring. 7

in many sections of the country, tile or concrete tubes or barrels are sunk into the ground to accommodate outdoor water meterinstallations. Freight shipment of such units is so hazardous that most manufacturers thereof nited States Patent 2,866,250 Patented Dec. 30, 1958 have'abandoned the business, and water companies are finding it quite difficult to purchase such barrels. They can be readily made near the point of use, but the only molds for such devices now available on the market are sheet steel molds which are so expensive that most users find it infeasible to own more than one set of such molds, the result being that only one barrel per day can be produced.

We have devised a mold apparatus admirably adapted to the production of such barrels or tubes, and consisting of a pair of sheaths of corrugated paper board, or other relatively pliable, inexpensive material, so proportioned and designed as to be telescopically associated to define a perimetrally continuous, open-ended chamber, together with a set of members for cooperation with the paired sheaths for the facile production of a suitable mold. In the practice of our invention, the permanent or reusable parts of the mold are so inexpensive that any user can readily afford to own several sets thereof; the sheath elements which define the walls of the mold are so inexpensive as to be disposable; and the construction as a whole is of such character that the reusable elements may be withdrawn from the mold after partial setting of the concrete or other moldable material, whereby a single set of such reusable elements may readily be used, with a second set of disposable sheaths, before final hardening of'the first molded article. By this means, the cost of producing concrete barrels or tubular elements is so reduced as to make their use, once more, feasible.

In Fig. 4 of the accompanying drawings, we have shown a sheath, indicated generally by the reference numeral 10, and comprising a strip of corrugated paper board whose ends are suitably permanently joined as, for instance, by the lapped and stapled joint 11. Any other suitable and sturdy means, several of which are conventionally known in the corrugated paper board art, may be used in place of the specific form of joint illustrated. The strip is axially scored, on its internal surface, as at 12, at suitable intervals such as, for instance, two inches to six inches, to facilitate the erection of the sheath into substantially cylindrical form, as indicated in Figs. 1 to 3; and preferably one edge of the sheath will be provided with a pair of diametrically spaced, axially-extending, shallow notches 13 and 14 for a purpose which will ap pear hereinafter.

When a mold is to be prepared for use, the outer sheath 10 is raised to a substantially vertical position, and its abutting sides are separated, whereby the sheath will approach a cylindrical condition. Now, at one or more points in the circumference of the sheath, the sheath is bent inwardly,.as indicated in Fig. 5; and a ring or band 15, which is substantially non-expansible and which is preferably formed of wrought iron wire or rod material, is slipped over the upper end of the sheath. It is to be noted in this connection that, during such assembly, the sheath is arranged with that edge containing the notches 13 and 14 uppermost. A bar 16, which diametrically traverses the ring 15, i rigidly carried from the ring 15 through axially-extending tongues 17, 17; and the opposite ends of the bar are seated in the notches l3 and 14. At its midpoint, the bar 16 carries a spur or post 18 which projects axially toward the opposite end of the sheath 10 and, of course, is located on the axis of said sheath. 7

Now, the companion sheath 19 of the pair is somewhat similarly erected. The sheath 19 is preferably formed, in one edge, with diametrically spaced, axiallyextending, shallow notches 20 and 21 corresponding to the notches 13 and 14 of the sheath 10. A reinforcing ring or band 22,'which will be preferably formed of material similar to that used for the ring 15, now

slipped into the, sheath 19 and is located adjacent that end of the sheath in which the notches 20 and 21 are formed. A bar 23 diametrically traverses the ring 22 and is rigidly carried thereby, said bar 23 beingformed, at its midpoint; with a perforation 24. The ring 22, of course, will be substantially-non-collapsible; and acts, when snugly seated Within the sheath 19, to reinforce said sheath against collapse.

Now, the sheath is inverted, so that the bar 16 lies at its bottom, and the sheath 19 is inserted into the sheath 10, in a position such that the ring 22 lies near the bottom end of the sheath. When the post 18 is engaged in the perforation 24, obviously a coaxial or concentric relation will be established between the two sheaths; and said sheaths will cooperate to define, therebetween, a perimetrally continuous, open-ended chamber of uniform transverse dimension.

It is not essential to preform the notches 13, 14, and 21. The sheaths 10 and 19 have relatively low crushing strength in an axial direction; and the notches may, if desired, be formed during erection, merely by pressing the parts home to force the bar 16 to crush its way into the sheath edges.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the sheaths 10 and 19 are substantially circular in crosssection, so that the chamber defined therebetween is annular; but it will be obvious that any desired crosssectional contour may be given to the sheaths. Preferably, but not necessarily, the cross-sectional contour of the sheath 19 will correspond to that of the sheath 10, but on smaller dimensions, so that the transverse dimension of the chamber defined therebetween will be uniform.

In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, the two sheaths 10 and 19 are substantially cylindrical, though they taper slightly toward their notched ends.

Of course, if a cross-sectional contour other than circular is selected, the several reinforcing rings or bands will conform to the selected contours. In the illustrated embodiment of the invention, of course, all of the cooperating elements are circular.

Either before or after insertion of the sheath 19 into the sheath 10, two additional reinforcing rings or bands 25 and 26 are preferably inserted in the sheath 10, the ring 25 being located approximately one-fourth of the distance from the ring 22 to the upper end of the sheath, and the ring 26 being located slightly above the midpoint in the height of the sheath. The rings 22, 25 and 26, of course, fit snugly in their locations within the sheath 19; and each of them is preferably provided with hand-hold means for facilitating manipulation thereof. The bar 23 comprises such hand-hold means for the ring 22; and grip bars 27 are carried by the ring 25 and project toward the center thereof, while similar grip bars 28 are similarly carried by the ring 26'.

We prefer to provide closure means, indicated generally by the reference numeral 29, for the upper, open end of the sheath 19 in order to facilitate filling of the chamber between the two sheaths without loss of material to the interior of the sheath 19. Such closure means comprises a cover plate 30 whose outer perimeter closely conforms to the outer perimeter of the upwardly presented end of the sheath 19, so that said plate will rest upon the sheath end, fully closing said sheath without obstructing the open end of the chamber defined between the sheaths. Preferably, the plate 30 will be a piece of sheet metal provided, at its perimeter, with a rebent portion 31 which may be continuous or which may be perimetrally interrupted, the only limitation being that there shall be rebent portions at at least three perimetrally spaced locations about the edge of the plate. The closure 29 comprises, also, a collar portion 32 which fits snugly within the upper portion of the sheath 19 and which is provided with out-turned flange means 33 engaged by the rebent portions 31 of the plate 30, whereby said collar is supported from the plate. We presently *believe that the collar 32 will preferably be formed, likewise, of sheet metal; but it will be appreciated that either or both of the elements 30 and 32 may, instead, be formed of corrugated paper board or other inexpensive or disposable material of reasonable rigidity.

A funnel, indicated generally by the reference numeral 34, is preferably provided for use in filling the moldable material into the chamber defined between the sheaths 10 and 19; and preferably the funnel will be formed of permanent material such as, for instance, sheet metal. The funnel comprises a ring 35 having a lower portion 36 snugly receivable within the upper portion of the sheath 10; and means, such as the wings 37, 37, are so carried by the ring 35 as to project radially outwardly therefrom and to define a shoulder 38, the lower ends of the wings 37 being disposed in a common plane and being adapted to rest upon the upper end of the sheath 10.

A series of fins 39 is carried upon the inner surface of the ring 35, each such fin preferably being formed to provide an upper edge 40, inclining downwardly and radially inwardly from the upper edge of the ring 35, and an inner edge 41 lying parallel with the common axis of the sheaths 10 and 19 and meeting the edge 40 of its fin in a level higher than the level of the plate 30, when the funnel is assembled with the other parts in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2. The fin edges 41 lie in a common circle substantially coincident with the outer periphery of the uppermost end of the sheath 19 so that, when the parts are assembled in the manner illustrated in Fig. 2, the ends 41 of all of the fins will engage the periphery of the plate 30 to restrain the upper end of the sheath 19 against transaxial movement relative to the corresponding end of the sheath 10.

Now, concrete or other moldable material can be poured rather freely into the funnel 34 to fill the chamber defined between the sheaths 10 and 19. Any excess which may fall upon the closure 29 can, of course, readily be scraped into the said chamber. When the chamber has been filled, the funnel 34 may be removed. Some users prefer that the bottom end of the finished barrel shall be provided with two or more notches opening through the barrel end; and such notches may be provided, in the finished barrel 42, by setting two or more blocks 43, 43 in the unset mass of concrete, in the manner indicated in Fig. 3.

After the concrete has taken its initial set, the closure 29 may be removed and the rings 26, 25 and 22 may be lifted out of the mold through the open upper end of the sheath 19. The ring 15, however, cannot be removed from the mold until after the barrel has hardened sufficient to permit inversion thereof. After such removal, the auxiliary apparatus may be assembled with a new pair of corrugated paper board sheaths to begin the production of another barrel, without waiting for final setting ofthe first barrel.

The inner surface of the corrugated board sheath 10 and the outer surface of the sheath 19 will preferably be Waxed, but they tend to adhere reasonably well to the finished concrete barrel; and, if desired, the barrel may be transported to a point of use before removal of those sheaths, whereby the sheaths provide some protection against shock damage to the barrel, while in transit. When the barrel is to be installed, however, the sheaths will usually be removed; and it is found that, by slitting each sheath in one or more places from end to end, removal thereof from the barrel is made quite simple.

We claim as our invention:

1. A single-use mold for use in forming a tubular article from concrete, or the like, comprising an outer, tubular sheath .of foldable, disposable material, having an upper end and a lower end, a one-piece, rigid reinforcing band sleeved on said sheath near the lower end thereof, a transaxially-extending narrow bar permanently secured to said band, underlying said sheath, and traversing the axis of said sheath, said bar being provided with centering means lying substantially in said axis, an inner, tubular sheath of foldable disposable material having an upper end and a lower end, a one-piece rigid reinforcing band snugly fitting within said inner sheath adjacent the lower end thereof, and a transaxiallyextending bar carried by said last-named band and traversing the axis of said second sheath, said last-named bar being provided with centering means lying substantially in the axis of said inner sheath and cooperable with said first-named centering means, when said inner sheath is telescopically associated within said outer sheath, to establish a substantially coaxial relation between said sheaths.

2. A device of the class described comprising a first tube formed of foldable, disposable material, said tube being provided, at one end, with two diametrically-spaced, longitudinally-extending radial notches therethrough, a one-piece, rigid reinforcing ring sleeved on said end of said tube, a diametrical bar permanently secured to said ring and seated in said notches, a second tube formed of foldable, disposable material and having a diameter substantially less than that of said first tube, a onepiece, rigid reinforcing ring snugly fitting within said second tube near an end thereof, and a diametrical bar carried by said last-named ring, said bars being respectively provided with mutually-engageable means cooperating, when said second tube is mounted within said first tube, to establish a substantially coaxial relation between said tubes.

3. The mold of claim 1, including closure means for the upper end of said sheath, said closure means comprising a cover portion contoured and dimensioned substantially to conform to the outer perimeter of, and to overlie, the upper end of said inner sheath, and a substantially vertical, perimetral collar depending from said cover portion and proportioned and designed to fit snugly within the upper end portion of said inner sheath.

4. The mold of claim 3, in which said cover portion 6 comprises a plate having its perimetral edge rebent downwardly and inwardly at each of at least three perimetrally spaced points, and in which said collar is provided, at its upper end, with outturned flange means received in said rebent edge portions of said plate, whereby said collar is dependently supported from said plate.

5. The mold of claim 3, including funnel means separate from and independently movable relative to said closure means, said funnel means comprising a perimetrally-continuous member having a lower portion proportioned and designed to be received snugly within the open, upper end of said outer sheath, means projecting outwardly from said member and defining a downwardlyfacing shoulder located above said lower portion to rest upon the upper end of said outer sheath when said lower portion is so received, and a plurality of perimetrally-spaced fins projecting inwardly from said member to engage the perimeter of said closure means when said member lower portion is so received.

6. The mold of claim 5 in which each of said fins is formed to define an upper edge inclining downwardly and inwardly from the inner perimeter of the upper end of said member, and an inner edge substantially coincident with a portion of the perimeter of said closure means, said inner edge of each fin lying in a substan tially vertical plane and meeting the upper edge of its fin in a level above said closure means.

References tCited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 284,191 Dorsett Sept. 4, 1883 716,446 Lyman Dec. 23, 1902 750,468 Lee Jan. 26, 1904 895,904 Perschabacher et al Aug. 11, 1908 951,688 Lee Mar. 8, 1910 1,103,270 Cronholm July 14, 1914 1,150,828 Souder Aug. 17, 1915 1,448,849 Lamb Mar. 20, 1923 1,765,572 Eichenberger June 24, 1930 1,892,311 MacDonald Dec. 27, 1932 1,954,788 Chambliss et a1 Apr. 17, 1934 2,019,195 Simpson Oct. 29, 1935 2,677,165 Copenhaver et a1 May 4, 1954 

